Business & Finance: Boss of the Empire

A year ago Chicago's Henry R. Crown, who runs the biggest U.S.
building-supply firm and finds time to promote big deals on the side,
got interested in buying the Empire State Building. Reluctantly, he
decided it was "too rich for my blood." But he kept a watchful eye as
Detroit Real-Estate Man Roger L. Stevens made a deal six months later
(TIME, June 4) to buy the building from the estate of John J. Raskob
for $51 million, paying $13,500,000 in cash.

Three weeks ago it looked as if the deal would fall through: Stevens...